Where Was I?

 

I left Southeast Asia and made it down to Australia, where I would spend the next six weeks of my travels.  I had previously lived in Australia for a semester abroad during college ten years prior to this trip (felt old writing that), but had never made it to the west coast, which is far less populated.  Before moving on to Melbourne and Sydney, I decided to book a one week tour that would take me along the west coast of the country, where the natural beauty and colors of the land were some of the best I would see anywhere in my year of traveling.    The trip was made up of many hours spent on the road in a large van and while it wasn’t the most ideal way to travel, some of the stops were extraordinary.   

The Best Thing I Saw in Western Australia

Sunsets in Kalbarri

 

This was the first night of the tour and set quite a high bar for the scenery that was coming this week.  I earlier wrote that the best sunset I had seen was in Borocay, a beautiful Filipino island, but if I had a second choice it would have been here in Kalbarri, WA.    The colors of the sky were magnificent and watching it change minute by minute was something I’ll always remember.  

 

Other Highlights 

Snorkeling with Manta Rays in Coral Bay

This was one of the better water excursions of my journey.  It consisted of a boat ride out on the bay and a small plane tracking the rays from the sky.  Once spotted, those of us on the boat, split into three groups, would take turns jumping in the water and then following the guide to swim with the manta rays.  They were very slow moving and didn’t have stingers like stingrays do, which made it enjoyable and a little less frightening watching them swim right below.

 

Dolphins in Monkey Mia

Monkey Mia was a beach resort that made for a nice tourist stop in Western Australia.  The beach was beautiful and it was so isolated that it made for clear star gazing at night.  Their main attraction was the dolphin feeding, which took place in the mornings.  The dolphins were well cared for and the staff were careful to explain how they made sure not to let the dolphins solely rely on humans for food, so they would be able to survive when back in the wild. 

Feeding Kangaroos 

On the last day of the trip, we took a drive back down the coast and stopped at the Greenough Wildlife and Bird Park, where we had the chance to feed the kangaroos and hold a baby roo (joey).  The park had some amazing staff members who described how they rescue all sorts of animals and help raise them to be able to rejoin the wild.  The kangaroos may have been the highlight, but seeing the dingos, birds, snakes, and many other animals in the park made it really memorable.      

 

The Pinnacles 

One of the most visited site in Western Australia,  The Pinnacles were made up of thousands of these limestone pillars that stretched across land in this national park.  There’s a lot of history and science behind their formation, but just from a visual standpoint it was pretty cool to see them. 

 

Stromatolites

Also filled with history, these stromatolites were living fossils that dated back to pre-historic times.  Another cool thing to see and would probably be cooler for those really into science or rocks.  

 

Turquoise Bay

It would be hard to beat the colors of the water we saw here at Turquoise Bay.  It made for a relaxing afternoon on the beach and was home to some large sea turtles.  

 

Pink Lake

I saw some pictures where this lake looked more pink, but it just depended on the day and time of year.  I still thought it was pretty interesting to see a pink lake.  

 

Kalbarri National Park

The best hike we took was at Kalbarri National Park and some of the views from the top of the peaks were spectacular.  

 

Lighthouse Bay

The farthest point north we visited was a city called Exmouth, which was where this viewpoint of Lighthouse Bay stood.  There was some interesting WWII history associated with this location and the sunset was pretty remarkable.  

 

As I mentioned above, there was a lot of driving involved in this week of travel.  We covered over 1500 miles (over 2500 km for the non US folks) in seven days and the driving was done on desolate highways in rural Western Australia.  It was a fun group made up of many nationalities and the driver/guide, a native Australian and expert on the area, was awesome.  There were a few things I wish had been planned differently from a macro standpoint and the many hours on the road certainly took its toll on the group, but overall it was a fun week exploring some lesser known areas of this country.  

 

The Sugars

Highest high: 349

Lowest low: 39

Avg Morning: 154

Avg Afternoon: 117

Avg Night: 108

Insulin Pods: 3

Avg Basal Rate: 1.10

Emergency sugar supply: Skittles, glucose tablets, energy drinks

 

This was one of the more difficult weeks to manage everything associated with my diabetes.  For starters, booking this kind of trip there were many unknowns about the daily itineraries.  Also, the accommodations were different than what I had been accustomed to as most of the nights were spent at hostels.  This meant that there were no refrigerators in the rooms and I would have to make arrangements with the hostel staff to store my insulin when we would arrive in a new place.  I also had to rely on my Frio bags when we would take long road trips and even then I felt uneasy about leaving my bag in the hot van for too long. 

I had one real disaster while packing my insulin in Monkey Mia.  I was removing each vial from the refrigerator in the communal kitchen and putting them in my Frio bag when one of the vials slipped out of my hand and smashed into pieces on the ground.  Each vial consisted of about two weeks worth of insulin, so seeing one smash on the floor was a big blow to my supply.  Although I wanted to cry, I knew there was nothing I could do but clean up the broken pieces and throw it in the trash.  This was the second vial that had broken on my travels, but the first time I had ever dropped a vial and seen it shatter.  I still had enough insulin at the time to last about two more months, but I knew I would likely need to pick up some more insulin somewhere in Australia.  The lesson here would be always prepare for the worst and have extra everything, even expensive items like insulin when possible.  

During the snorkeling trip with the manta rays there were three opportunities to get in the water, but I chose to sit out the last dip in the water, something I would do a few times throughout the travels as a precaution for my insulin pods.     

In general, this was a tough week because it was hard to gauge how much time we would be spending in the van, how much time we would be hiking or doing physical activities, or when we would be spending time in the water.  When booking trips like these with a group and a tour leader, I knew ahead of time it would be difficult because I wouldn’t be able to make my own plans.  I also had to make sure I bought enough sugar products (Gatorade, Skittles) when we would make a stop at a gas station because some of the stays were in pretty remote areas.  Most of the days went ok and I wasn’t constantly struggling, but I did suffer a few extreme highs and lows because of all the factors that I tried to account for.   

 

I was glad I went to visit this part of Australia, but after one week on the west side I was ready for civilization again and the big city of Melbourne.  

Keep the sugar levels steady.

Jeremy 

 

THIS WEBSITE IS NOT INTENDED FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING MEDICAL ADVICE.  PLEASE CONSULT PROPER MEDICAL PERSONNEL FOR ALL HEALTH RELATED ISSUES